Avatar: The Last Airbender

Fans might be drawn to Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender to see characters like Aang, Katara, Zuko, and Sokka in live action, but pretty soon the actors behind them will be superstars in their own right.

Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio, Dallas Liu, and Ian Ousley are the headliners of EW’s new cover story on the making of their highly anticipated live-action reimagining.

Set in a fantasy world of benders — those with the power to control either water, earth, fire, or air — the series follows Aang (Cormier) as he emerges as the next Avatar, a reincarnated being with the unique ability to master all four elements. And the world needs him now more than ever. The Fire Nation has launched a war for global domination, and the Avatar is the only one who can stop them.

Get to know the show’s core four stars before the series debuts on Netflix Feb. 22, and check out some exclusive images from the series as well.

The way of water Kiawentiio for EW’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ photoshoot.

Nick Fancher

Kiawentiio, 17, stars in Avatar: The Last Airbender as Katara, a waterbender living in the Southern Water Tribe with her brother Sokka (Ousley). The two inadvertently discover the next generation’s Avatar, an airbender named Aang, frozen in ice for 100 years.

Bending boot camp Kiawentiio for EW’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ photoshoot.

Nick Fancher

A month before filming began, the actors went to boot camp to learn all the martial arts-inspired moves their characters use to channel elemental bending. “It helped me prepare myself and my body for the moves that I would have to master by the end of filming,” Kiawenttio says. “It also was a great opportunity for us to bond. We hadn’t even really met at that point.”

For a new generation Kiawentiio for EW’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ photoshoot.

Nick Fancher

Unlike the original animated series, which was geared towards kids on Nickelodeon, Kiawentiio feels the live-action series coming to Netflix has a different tone that’s for multiple age groups. “It’s slightly darker. I feel like it’s slightly catered to fans of the original that were kids back then and have grown now,” she says.

Growing up on screen Kiawentiio for EW’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ photoshoot.

Nick Fancher

Kiawentiio was 14 when she started her Avatar journey, and now she’s almost 18. She says viewers can see how she’s not only growing as an actor, but also as a person in real time over the course of season 1. “I feel like I got comfortable with Katara, and I feel like you can see it on the show,” she says. “Hopefully people are giving me grace a little and to see me grow into the character more.”

The Boomer-Aang Squad Ian Ousley for EW’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ photoshoot.

Nick Fancher

Ousley’s Sokka is the member of the Team Avatar group who isn’t a bender, but he does have one thing the others don’t: his trustee boomerang. “It’s pretty much my entire personality,” the actor jokes on the set of EW’s cover shoot.

Forced to lead Ian Ousley for EW’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ photoshoot.

Nick Fancher

A big element to the Katara and Sokka story is the absence of their parents. In the animated original, Fire Nation soldiers killed their mother, while their father is off fighting in the war, leaving the young Sokka to lead the Souther Water Tribe as a teenager. “That’s a lot of the roots of what we’re going through in general,” Ousley says.

Bringing the laughs Ian Ousley for EW’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ photoshoot.

Nick Fancher

Ousley knew early on what he wanted to carry over from the original into his portrayal of live-action Sokka: comedy. “I wanted to make sure that Sokka was funny,” he says. “There’s many times where I’m going off and [the producers were] like, ‘Try one dry.'”

Shifting from animation Ian Ousley for EW’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ photoshoot.

Nick Fancher

Some aspects of the characters, including Sokka, will be slightly tweaked for the new series. As Ousley explains, some things that worked for the goofier nature of the Nickelodeon show don’t necessarily translate to a live-action drama. “There’s more weight with the realism in every way,” the actor says. “There are things that were redirected just because it might play a little different.”

The banished prince Dallas Liu for EW’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ photoshoot.

Nick Fancher

Liu stars as Prince Zuko, the heir to the Fire Nation throne who’s been sent out into the world to hunt down the Avatar. Accompanied by his uncle, General Iroh, Zuko is determined to restore his honor in the eyes of his father, Fire Lord Ozai.

Eyes on Aang Dallas Liu for EW’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ photoshoot.

Nick Fancher

Liu reveals he originally hoped to play Aang in the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender — until he found out what he was actually auditioning for. Showrunner Albert Kim wrote dummy scripts for prospective actors to read, but ones that still captured the essence of each character. “Mine was about going to some random academy, but I hated my father. That was so obviously Zuko,” Liu recalls.

Playing with fire Dallas Liu for EW’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ photoshoot.

Nick Fancher

When watching the Nickelodeon show as a young kid, Zuko easily became one of his favorite characters. “He has one of the greatest character arcs and developments in animation history, arguably,” he says. “Knowing all of that as a kid really made me fall in love with his character.”

A close shave Dallas Liu for EW’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ photoshoot.

Nick Fancher

Both Liu and Cormier shaved their heads for their respective roles, though Liu’s look at least maintains Zuko’s signature hair bun. “I didn’t think too much of it, honestly,” he says. “I was just like, I’m bald and I’ve got a diamond-shaped head and I’ve got three inches of hair. Ian started calling it the joystick on the first day. But it definitely tapped me into my character a lot.”

The next savior Gordon Cormier for EW’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ photoshoot.

Nick Fancher

In a world full of benders, the Avatar stands alone. A bridge between the spirit and human worlds, this individual can not only control all four elements, but they can enter what is known as the Avatar State, in which they can channel the powers of all their combined past lives for powerful effects. Cormier’s Aang is the next lifecycle’s Avatar.

Air head Gordon Cormier for EW’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ photoshoot.

Nick Fancher

Bending boot camp was slightly different for Cormier than it was for his costars. Playing the world’s only living airbender, he was “flying on wires and tables and doing backflips,” he says. “It was really awesome.”

A different incarnation Gordon Cormier for EW’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ photoshoot.

Nick Fancher

Cormier admits he considered dropping out of the Avatar auditions. “I actually considered not doing it because I didn’t know what it was,” he says. “It was like a 90-line audition. I was a small 11-year-old, and they were looking for a 12-year-old. So I was thinking, I’m not going to book this. I don’t fit the casting.” Then everything changed when the casting directors came back with positive feedback. “So I did it!”

A new Avatar…fan Gordon Cormier for EW’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ photoshoot.

Nick Fancher

Though he didn’t know anything about Avatar before the live-action show, Cormier is now just like any other diehard fan. He’s seen the animated original countless times over and regularly dives deep into fan-made YouTube videos. “Shoutout to The Avatarist,” he says of the YouTube handle. “The whole cast watches him, and we really love that guy.”

The Aang gang Ian Ousley, Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio, and Dallas Liu.

Nick Fancher

Ian Ousley, Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio, and Dallas Liu assemble.

Heroes and villains blur Ian Ousley, Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio, and Dallas Liu — take two!.

Nick Fancher

Can you tell which is a hero and which is a villain? Maybe those lines will blur as the show goes on.

Mastering the elements Gordon Cormier as Aang in ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’.

Robert Falconer/Netflix

A new look at Cormier going full Aang, shaved head and all.

When you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way… Sebastian Amoruso as Jet and Kiawenttio as Katara in ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’.

Robert Falconer/Netflix

Actor Sebastian Amoruso arrives on the scene as Jet. In the animated series, the character was a young rebel fighting against the Fire Nation. In the live-action reimagining, he’s described as a warrior from the Earth Kingdom.

Dealing with fans Maria Zhang as Suki and Ian Ousley as Sokka in ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’.

Robert Falconer/Netflix

When it comes to the female warriors of Kyoshi Island in the Earth Kingdom, fans are deadlier than swords. (The handheld folding kind, not show obsessives.) Maria Zhang appears on Avatar: The Last Airbender as Suki, leader of the Kyoshi Warriors who’s going to show Sokka a thing or two about fighting.

World’s best uncle Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as General Iroh and Dallas Liu as Prince Zuko in ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’.

Robert Falconer/Netflix

Paul Sun-Hyung Lee plays Iroh, a retired general of the Fire Nation army, brother to Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim), and the supportive uncle of Prince Zuko. He serves as Zuko’s mentor, father figure, and moral guide on the young royal’s mission to retrieve the Avatar.

An OG returns Elizabeth Yu as Princess Azula and Daniel Dae Kim as Fire Lord Ozai in ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’.

Robert Falconer/Netflix

Daniel Dae Kim is already part of the Avatar family. He voiced the role of General Fong of the Earth Kingdom in Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender and later voiced Asami’s father Hiroshi Sato in sequel series The Legend of Korra. Now he has come to portray the villainous Fire Lord Ozai in live action. May December actress Elizabeth Yu plays his daughter, Princess Azula.

Team Avatar Ian Ousley as Sokka, Gordon Cormier as Aang, and Kiawentiio as Katara in ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’.

Robert Falconer/Netflix

Ousley’s Sokka and Kiawentiio’s Katara accompany Cormier’s Aang on his journey to save the world. Learn more about the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender with EW’s cover story.

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